Swimming with the fishes

Last weekend I completed my Scuba training. I am now a certified open water scuba diver. Which basically means I can buy and rent scuba gear and dive to 18 meters in depth. I was surprised on how enjoyable it is. The worst part of it is putting on that damn wet suit.
I had to complete 4 dives last weekend to become certified. They were more fun dives than class type dives the first two were to 12 meters. I saw some cool looking fish and coral. The colors were amazing. I would take pictures, but alas I don't have an underwater camera. So if anyone wants to buy me one, I'll take some pictures. We did some basic skills on the second dive, putting on the weight belt and scuba tank while in the water as well as flooding the mask and unflooding it. We did some compass orientation stuff. Though I think I would still get lost. I am hopeless when it comes to finding things.
It took me a little while to get down to depth, I was having trouble equalizing my ears. As you dive the air spaces in you ears gets smaller causing ear pain if you don't equalize. You can even blow your eardrums, though the pain gets to be a bit intense. But I finally got equalized and was enjoying my dive doing skills and checking out my surroundings. So cool. We get out of the water and Paul, my instructor tells me that I have a bloody nose. I farmer blow it and low and behold, blood, blood, bloody snot. Not runny bloody, but blood in my sinuses. It freaks me out a little bit. I've never had a bloody nose before. Well I have had the bloody booger from the random pick, but nothing like this. We wait an hour before the next dive. We have to let the nitrous levels in our blood die down, before we can dive again, then gear up and jump back in. Go through the dive and having problems equalizing again, but I make it to depth and go about the dive. Come up an bloody nose. Little freaked out, but think I just burst a blood vessel from trying to equalize. Went out for a bit after diving and still had a bloody nose every time I blew it. Sleep it off and figure I'll check on it the next day.
Sunday morning rolls around and I blow my nose and still bloody. So I tell my scuba instructor and the dive shop owner and they aren't concerned, so I am not concerned. It's all good.
The next two dives we did the next day on Sunday. I was a bit burned from the sun on Saturday, so the wet suit was particularly annoying to put on. These dives I got to go deeper, equalizing was still a problem, but I am getting used to it. The second dive went much much better and was able to equalize with minimal stopping. I was some bigger colourful fish and I even saw a lion fish. Really cool looking. Big floaty fins and all. The first dive we tried to do a free descent, but were unable to due to a hell of a current. It took us and pulled us quite a way. It took a lot of energy to swim back to the ropes and descent. The last dive to tide switched and I was able to do the descent with out any difficulties. It was good times and now I am certified!!!!